


A Few Bullets Never Hurt Anyone

by Majure



Series: Vera verse [1]
Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Gen, Guns, kind of self destructive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-28
Updated: 2019-01-28
Packaged: 2019-10-18 02:48:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17572820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Majure/pseuds/Majure
Summary: A pre war, fresh faced Vault Dweller needs practice facing down guns.





	A Few Bullets Never Hurt Anyone

**Author's Note:**

> ive added a date to the beginning and will start doing that to all my fics in this verse. 
> 
> I should mention that this takes place before Ink Spots.

October 31, 2287

It was unseasonably warm for October. The sun beat down on Vera’s shoulders, warming her throughout. Standing on the riverbank a little ways north of Sanctuary with the sunlight falling through the leaves, bare feet digging into the soil on the embankment, it reminded Vera of the few warm summer months she’d spent exploring the Virginian backwoods while visiting Nate’s family. 

Or, it would, if it weren’t for the gun to her head.

“Are you sure about this?” 

“Not really.” 

Preston grimaced. His grip on the 10 mil, although firm, shifted. Vera's eyebrow twitched. “Not exactly the way to instill confidence in me when I’m pointing a gun at you, Vera.” 

Vera spread her hands, outwardly far more calm than she was. If Preston moved closer, he would see the tremble in her hands as she held them up. Not unreasonable; having a man you’ve known for all of three days point a gun at you isn’t the kind of position that screams ‘I’m in a good place!’

“I’m fully aware of what I’m getting into,” she said (lied). “I trust that you won’t actually shoot me in the head.” Another lie. She was doing a lot of that lately. 

Another wince twisted his face, but Preston just shrugged his shoulders wearily. He flicked the safety off the gun with one thumb. “If you say so,” he muttered. “But I don’t know why anyone would willingly want to get shot at.” 

Instinctual fear kicked into overdrive as Vera stared down the barrel of the gun - just a 10 mil, nothing special (and she’d been out of the vault for a week, when did a 10 mil become nothing special?). Her fingernails bit into her palms; she was sure they’d leave bloody half moon imprints by the time they were done. 

Vera blinked at the shot went off. Her heart stuttered in anticipation, convinced that any second, pain would blossom through her body. There was none. Hesitantly, Vera cracked open an eye. She turned around. There was a hole in the trunk of the tree behind her, level with her eyes. Life in Sanctuary went on. Doubtless they were used to the sound of gunshots. Preston looked expectant when she turned back around. 

“Do it again?” 

He looked exasperated. “You didn’t get your thrill rush?” 

“It’s not about thrill, Preston,” she argued. “It’s about not flinching.” 

He grumbled, but lifted the gun and fired again. Vera blinked again, wincing as her hair stirred. Her heart was jumping, pounding on her ribs like it wanted out of her chest. She felt dizzy and physically ill, but she said, “Again, please.” 

It went off again with a deafening bang, over her right shoulder this time. Vera stayed rooted to the grass, unmoving despite her brain screaming at her to run. She nodded when Preston looked at her again. Shrugging, Preston fired the remaining nine shots, alternating shoulders. Vera genuinely thought her heart skipped a beat, but by the sixth shot she wasn’t blinking and by the ninth she was reasonably confident that if anyone ever actually intended to shoot her, she wouldn’t freeze up. 

When Preston lowered the empty gun, spent casings littering the grass, Vera let out a shuddering breath. Her hands were trembling from the adrenaline rushing through her system. The tin-aluminum taste of fear coated the back of her throat like blood. There was probably a fifty percent chance that she would fall if she tried to take a step, so Vera collapsed bonelessly in the grass and laid down. Her fingers dug into the grass and down into the earth below. 

Preston moved to sit next to her. The babbling of the river in its bed was the only conversation that happened for a good long while. He picked at the grass. “What was that about?” he eventually asked. 

“Now I know what it’s like to have a gun pointed at me,” Vera said. “Now, maybe I won’t be so scared when it happens again.” 

Preston’s eyes crinkled in confusion. “There were...easier ways to go about that, I think.” 

A breath whooshed out of her lungs. Vera closed her eyes against the dappled sunlight drifting down through the trees. “You’re probably right.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is short and also. not very good. I wrote it in like thirty minutes just to get the words out. 
> 
> I dont have a beta, so if anyone is interested, hit me up at my tumblr blog Fanthings.
> 
> thanks for reading!


End file.
